Misadventures in Skyrim
by autumnxwinds
Summary: Several short stories of some crazy, comical experiences in Skyrim. Hope you enjoy.


AN: What follows within this fic are some of my misadventures in Skyrim. They will be broken up by chapter, and may have different characters (because I'm always making new ones).

As my friends and family put it: when I do something wrong, at least I do it completely.

**A Berserk Bear and His Infatuation With Farms**

Aeralea sucked in the cool mountain air, letting it out in a satisfied gust. It was great to be out of Whiterun, with it's lazy Jarl and smoke-ridden air. Wood elves weren't made for such places. She turned to her left and hopped over Whiterun's outer wall, grabbing onto the flag to slow her fall. Leaping away from the wall, she hit the road with a satisfying _thoomp_ and a small spray of dirt, reveling in the feel of lithe muscles and surety of self.

She followed the road for some time, hugging the eastern wall and heading north. Gathering her thoughts, she went through the information she had received from Ysolda, _So I should head to Morvunskar? That was certainly a night I wish I remembered... I wonder if I'll find Sam and the staff there..._ She pulled out a map and looked for the little 'x' where Ysolda had marked where Morvunskar was. _Due east of Whiterun, between the mountains, then heading northeast from Valtheim Towers. That doesn't look too hard; I'll follow the river instead of the road until I get past the mountains, then cut across the mountains northeast._

With a clear path in mind, she tucked the map away in her leather pouch and turned towards the river. Her mind on other things she didn't realize there was some sort of hunched brown shape in front of her until she ran into it. Stumbling back slightly, she looked up.

The bear was not happy that it had been woken up, and she was sure she wouldn't be able to kill it. Had she snuck up on it or been able to shoot it with an arrow, perhaps. But as it was, it had seen her too soon, and she was too close. It roared at her and she sprinted off, heading northeast, thinking perhaps it would tire before it got to her. Turning her head to watch it chase her, she wasn't paying attention to what was ahead. She let out a brief shout and tucked into a roll as something clipped her head as it sailed over her.

Looking up, she practically cried when she saw a very thin, hungry-looking sabre cat turning towards her, crouching in preparation for another attack. Scrambling to her feet, she swung wildly about, looking for a path of escape.

_Screw this!_ She headed for the bear who, surprised at this turn of events, reared up on his hind legs and prepared to swipe at her. She dodged to the side and kept running, heading back for Whiterun but knowing it was too far._ I'll never make it there. One of them will catch up before I make it back..._

Inspiration (and desperation) hitting her, she veered to her left and leapt into White River. Her legs went numb from the cold within seconds, the chill seeping into her clothes and creeping up to her waist. _Well, if they catch me here, at least I won't feel it_, she thought wryly, legs churning through the water. She reached the other side (which happened to just be a wall of rock) and stopped, panting heavily and turning, exhausted, to meet her death.

She had finally found some luck, though. The bear stood on the riverbank, standing on his hind legs and roaring angrily at her. The sabre cat bounded from one end of the bank to the other, searching-and not finding-a dry path to her. She chuckled breathlessly, panting out, "That's right, bitches. I'm not worth getting cold and wet for, am I?"

The sabre cat yowled at her, making her back against the rock wall again. _Damn you both. Why don't you two fight each other instead of me? Whoever wins would get a better meal anyway,_ she thought, scowling at the animals. The sabre cat snarled once more, then turned and bounded off, heading back to its cave. The bear stayed a few minutes more, but eventually dropped to all fours and waddled off, still hungry.

Aeralea waited a few minutes more before cautiously making her way back across the river. Crouching, she took one slow step after another up the slightly sloping hill until she came to the road. Glancing left and right and finding no terrifying visages of predators, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and stepped onto the road.

She followed the road now, watching carefully for animals. But within a minute of walking she heard something she wished to never hear again: a bear's roar. Turning wildly, her eyes scraped every inch of land they could cover, but she saw nothing. Frowning she turned forward again and heard another roar, then a horrified scream. Closing her eyes in the vain hope that she was just hearing things (nope, there it was again, a woman's scream), she felt her heart drop into her stomach. The wood elf opened her eyes and began jogging towards the sounds, realizing with dread that it was all coming from the Battle-Born farm.

Reaching the windmill, she arrived just in time to see one of the women get swiped aside by the bear, body hitting the ground with such force that Aeralea knew she was dead without having to check. She caught sight of two more bodies, one a woman and the other a man, and bit her lip, _This is my fault. Damn that bear._

Feeling reckless anger catch fire in her blood, she took a firm grip on her bow and knocked it, aiming carefully. "Take this, bastard." Letting loose, the arrow flew true and hit the bear in the neck, eliciting an enraged bellow from its target. The bear turned away from the barrel of food it had been plundering and charged at her, feet making resounding _thuds_ on the ground.

Aeralea tucked her bow away and pulled out her Skyforged steel sword. Crouching, she braced herself for the assault and positioned her sword carefully. _The bigger they are, the harder they fall_. The bear hit her with the force of... Well, a charging bear. But her sword had been positioned perfectly, and it sliced neatly through the folds of skin beneath the bears chin. Feeling the blood trickle down her hand as the sword pierced the creature, she shoved up with all the force she could muster and successfully stabbed the bear's brain. It let out a choked breath, then collapsed onto her, breath wheezing out like a demented toy as it died.

Fighting past the pain of a few broken ribs and several bruises, Aeralea wiggled out from beneath the heavy carcass and stood panting. Sticky blood covered her entire chest and arms, some having managed to spray onto her face. Turning the sword viciously inside the bear's head so that it's neck would break, she plucked her weapon out and plunged it into the dirt to get the blood off.

She scowled at the sagging carcass in front of her,_ I think I'll stick to the roads from now on._

It took her about an hour to fully skin the bear. While waiting for it to dry some (no way was she putting _that_ bloody thing in her bag), she checked the scattered and slightly dismembered bodies for anything useful, finding some food, ale, and lockpicks. She discovered an amethyst on the woman she had watched die, and tucked it into her pocket with a grin. _Guess I got some good out of this after all._

AN: That was my first ever misadventure. My sister kept laughing at the faces I was making at the screen. I eventually started shouting at it (which, by the way, did not help whatsoever). That stupid bear...


End file.
